the role of materialism on perceived values and online
TRANSCRIPT
December 17 (Vol. 1) (Issue. 1)
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JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH IN BUSINESS,
MARKETING, AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
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Corresponding author: Pravina Jayapal
E-mail address: [email protected] Affiliation: School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1018/j.jarims.2017.10.017
The Role of Materialism on Perceived Values and Online Impulse Buying Behaviour among
Generation Y: A Research Framework Proposition
Pravina Jayapal1, Azizah Omar
2, Mahmod Sabri Haron
3
1 PhD Candidate, School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia ([email protected])
2 Associate Professor, School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia ([email protected])
3 Professor, School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia ([email protected])
A R T I C L E I N F O
Article history:
Received in revised form:
10 October 17
Accepted:
02 December 2017
Keywords:
Perceived values; generation y; materialism; online impulse buying
behaviour.
A B S T R A C T
The purpose of this paper is to develop a research framework based on previous
literature review related to perceived values, materialism and online impulse
buying behaviour among Generation Y, which is supported by the Stimulus-
Organism-Response Model. In this paper, three components of perceived value
from the theory of consumption values by Sheth et al. (1991) have been utilised
due to its relevance to the impulse buying context, namely, social value,
emotional value and epistemic value. The social value is further divided into
social bridging and social bonding which is derived from the theory of social
capital. Furthermore, materialism functions as the mediator between perceived
values and online impulse buying behaviour. This paper expects to assist
practitioners and academicians in gaining further understanding on online
impulse buying behaviour. The present paper serves as one of the early studies
on perceived values, materialism and online impulse buying behaviour and
among the few addressing Generation Y in Malaysia. Finally, this study adds to
the existing literature on the mediating effect of materialism towards perceived
values and online impulse buying behaviour.
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1. INTRODUCTION
The advancement of the Internet has affected the
everyday life and activities of people around the
world. The Internet facilitates in terms of
communication, entertainment, business activities,
education and information exchange. The Internet
has become a necessity for every individual which
is proven through the Internet penetration
worldwide. Approximately 3.68 billion Internet
32 JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH IN BUSINESS, MARKETING, AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
users have been identified worldwide with the
highest number of users coming from the Asian
region (1.85 billion users) (InternetWorldStats,
2016).
Table 1 depicts the number of Internet users
worldwide according to the regions. North America
has the highest percentage of Internet penetration
(89%) while the growth of internet users is at the
peak in the African region (7,448.8 %). The number
of websites in the Internet has touched 1.12 billion
as of 12th of December 2016 (InternetWorldStats,
2016). The increasing number of Internet users and
websites signifies the rapid development of
technology and the growing importance of the
Internet in everyday life.
One of the popular activities among Internet users
is online buying (Jayawardhena, 2004). According
to Raman and Annamalai (2011), online buying
behaviour is defined as the process of purchasing
any products or services through the Internet.
Statista.com (2016) further confirmed that online
buying activity topped the list as the most common
activity, followed by social networking, online
video and online search. The number of online
buyers in 2015 has reached 1.46 billion and is
forecasted to extend to over 2 billion worldwide in
the year 2019. In 2013, worldwide e-commerce
sales exceeded 1.2 trillion US dollars.
Online buying behaviour offers many benefits to its
consumers. Namely, the accessibility and
availability of the Internet provides a better and
more convenient shopping atmosphere for
consumers (Javadi et al., 2012). Other than that,
online buying enables consumers to get the lowest
price for products through price comparison.
However, online buying behaviour also has a few
shortcomings which might affect the consumers
well-being. One of the drawback is, unlike
traditional stores, consumers are not able to touch
or experience the products beforehand.
Another significant issue which has to be regarded
is the rise in online buying behaviour which has
consequently led to serious problems such as online
impulse buying behaviour. The convenience of the
online buying platforms and 24 hours availability
have led the buying behaviour of the consumers to
be out of control (Greenfield, 1999; Li et al., 1999).
LaRose (2014) backed this notion by confirming
that consumers were overwhelmed with the savings
through online promotions and discounts which
resulted in impulse buying behaviour.
Table 1: Internet Users and Internet Penetration According to Region
World Regions Population
( 2016 Est.)
Population
(% of World)
Internet Users
30 June 2016
Penetration
(%
Population)
Growth
2000-2016 (%)
Asia 4,052,652,889 55.2 1,846,212,654 45.6 1,515.2
Europe 832,073,224 11.3 614,979,903 73.9 485.2
Latin America 626,119,788 8.5 384,751,302 61.5 2,029.4
Africa 1,185,529,578 16.2 340,783,342 28.7 7,448.8
North America 359,492,293 4.9 320,067,193 89.0 196.1
Middle East 246,700,900 3.4 141,489,765 57.4 4,207.4
Australia 37,590,820 0.5 27,540,654 73.3 261.4
Total 7,340,159,492 100.0 3,675,824,813 50.1 918.3
Source: Adapted from InternetWorldStats (2016)
The impact of online buying could be seen in all the
generation cohorts especially Generation Y.
Generation Y which is the largest generation cohort
have been actively purchasing through the Internet
and play a significant role in the advancement of
the e-commerce market. Generation Y are described
as the individuals born between the year 1982 to
2004 (Strauss & Howe, 1991). According to Strauss
and Howe (1991), those who are born within a
specific era share similar principles and values
which are shaped by their family, peers, society as
well as the significant incidents that occur during
the particular era.
According to Erin Adlina Adnan, the Public Mutual
Agency Manager-Unit Trust Consultant, young
Malaysians have been encountering difficulties in
handling their financial issues due to their lavish
lifestyle (TheMalaysianDigest, 2014). This young
generation were found to indulge in branded
products, cars and electronic gadgets. This is a
serious issue as Generation Y represented
JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH IN BUSINESS, MARKETING, AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT 33
approximately 11.4 million which is 46% of the
total Malaysian population in the year 2012
(Sukumaran, 2012).
Generation Y give importance to acquisition of
possessions and consequently encourage their
materialistic attitude. This materialistic attitude is
influenced by perceived values which represent the
values that the consumer wants to obtain through
their purchases. These values can be divided into
social bridging, social bonding, emotional value
and epistemic value. Generation Y purchase
products even though they could not afford it in the
hope of being accepted within their social circle.
Reference groups also play a role in influencing
consumers’ buying activity through symbolic
consumption values.
Besides that, emotional value such as pleasure and
fun further influence the materialistic attitude of
consumers (Richins, 2013). These emotions surface
when consumers purchase products that they
assume will satisfy their emotional cravings. Other
than that, materialistic consumers are found to
always be discontented with their possessions
which lead them towards seeking new and latest
products in order to satisfy their epistemic value.
Even though numerous studies have focused on
impulse buying behaviour, literature on online
impulse buying among Generation Y, focusing
primarily in Malaysia, remains low. Studies in
various countries have been concentrating on this
buying disorder for some time now (Lo et al., 2016;
Madhavaram & Laverie, 2004; Park et al., 2011;
Sharma et al., 2010). Since Malaysia has a large
proportion of Generation Y, it would be vital to
investigate the online impulse buying phenomena
among this generation. More precisely, theoretical
frameworks should be developed to provide more
knowledge and understanding on online impulse
buying behaviour.
The objective of this paper is to develop a
conceptual model on the influence of perceived
values, materialism and impulse buying behaviour
in the online settings. Moreover, the paper discusses
the mediating role of materialism on perceived
values and online impulse buying behaviour.
Accordingly, three research questions were
developed to further examine this issue. The first
research question of the paper is “Do perceived
values (social bridging, social bonding, emotional
and epistemic) influence materialism?”. The next
research question is “Does materialism influence
online impulse buying behaviour?” and the final
one is “Does materialism mediate the relationship
between perceived values and online impulse
buying behaviour?”.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature review section covers the
conceptualisations of the online impulse buying
behaviour, perceived values, materialism,
underlying theories and development of research
propositions.
Online Impulse Buying Behaviour
Impulse buying behaviour occurs when consumers
go through a sudden and strong urge to purchase
immediately (Rook, 1987). Purchasing behaviour
without having any prior plan is also known as
impulse buying behaviour (Beatty & Ferrell, 1998).
For the past four decades, impulse buying
behaviour has been studied by numerous
researchers in the area of psychology, marketing
and economics. Piron (1991) conducted a review on
the definitions of impulse buying behaviour from
past studies and integrated it into a comprehensive
definition. Firstly, impulse buying is a purchasing
activity which is unintentional and influenced by
stimulus. The stimulus is referring to any internal or
external factor that could influence the individual’s
purchasing activity (Shirmohammadi et al., 2015).
Consequently, the individual purchases without
thinking and spontaneously. However, after the
buying activity, the individual faces emotional and
cognitive reactions.
Impulse buying behaviour is primarily influenced
by internal and external stimuli. Internal stimuli
represent psychological factors, situational factors,
demographic factors and socio-economic factors.
Conversely, external stimuli refer to product’s
attributes and environmental characteristics
(Karbasivar & Yarahmadi, 2011; Muruganantham
& Bhakat, 2013). One of the factor is consumer’s
personal characteristics such as powerful urge (Park
et al., 2011; Rook, 1987), immediate gratification
(Kacen & Lee, 2002), consumer’s impulse buying
tendency (Kacen et al., 2012; Rook, 1987; Sharma
et al., 2010), pleasure and excitement (Beatty &
Ferrell, 1998; Flight et al., 2012). Besides that,
sociodemographic attributes play a role in
triggering impulse buying behaviour too. In terms
of age, younger individuals are more prone to be
impulse buyers compared to those who are older
(Amos et al., 2014). In addition, female consumers
are inclined towards impulse buying behaviour
compared to male consumers (Dittmar et al., 1995).
34 JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH IN BUSINESS, MARKETING, AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Environmental aspects such as type of store,
product line, atmospherics, product presentation
and advertisement exposure also influence impulse
buying behavior (Kollat & Willett, 1969; Xiao &
Nicholson, 2013).
The evolution of impulse buying behaviour has
moved to the Internet due to the importance of
information technology in the online environment.
Online buying overcomes the challenges that
consumers face in the brick and mortar stores,
which increases the possibility of online impulse
buying behaviour. Online impulse buying
behaviour is defined as the outcome of the
consumer’s instant reaction towards external stimuli
which is influenced hedonically (Madhavaram &
Laverie, 2004). Impulse buying takes place when a
change in the consumer’s intention to purchase
before and after exposure to the stimuli. Recently,
Lo et al. (2016) defined impulse buying behaviour
as an expression of consumers’ inability to control
their shopping impulse when facing consumptive
stimuli.
LaRose and Eastin (2002) were among the pioneer
researchers who investigated on online impulse
buying behaviour and they managed to provide an
explanation for unregulated buying over the
Internet. In 2003, a study utilised the environmental
psychology approach to explain the influence of
several websites media formats on impulse buying
intention (Adelaar et al., 2003). Some studies
justified that impulse buying takes place in the
online environment due to the nature of the Internet
itself. Dittmar (2004) described that online
transactions leads consumers to spend more than
they initially planned because the consumers do not
feel like they are actually spending real money in
the virtual settings. Madhavaram and Laverie
(2004) further confirmed that the online marketing
stimuli encourages impulse buying. Park et al.
(2006) identified that irrational emotional
temptations attract consumers to buy apparels,
making them one of the highest product categories
that is purchased impulsively through the Internet.
The factors of online impulse buying behaviour
slightly differs from brick and mortar based on
some aspects. Situational factors and environmental
characteristics are substantially different from the
factors of traditional impulse buying behaviour
(Lim & Yazdanifard, 2015).
Perceived Value
Consumer perceived value has been found in
literature since the past 20 years. According to
Sikka Kainth and Verma (2011), perceived value is
frequently studied in the area of marketing and
consumer behaviour recently. One of the most
common definition of perceived value is an
individual’s comprehensive assessment of the
utility of a product or service which relies on the
outlook of what is received and contributed
(Zeithaml, 1988). Monroe (1990) refered to
perceived value as a trade-off between traits and
benefits that consumers see in a particular product
and sacrifices that they make to get the product.
Later, Sikka Kainth and Verma (2011) mentioned
that perceived value is the value that an individual
obtains for what they pay which is beyond the
physical product itself. Many terms such as
consumption value, consumer value, perceived
consumption value and customer value has been
utilised interchangeably in past studies which
actually carries the same meaning (Gallarza &
Saura, 2006; Jensen & Hansen, 2007).
The theory of consumption values which was
developed by Sheth et al. (1991) divides perceived
consumption values into five categories which are
functional, social, emotional, epistemic and
conditional. However, this paper will only be
concentrating on three dimensions of perceived
value namely, social, emotional and epistemic
value. This is because these three dimensions of
perceived value lies within the hedonic values
category. Hedonic value is identified to be
positively associated with impulse buying
behaviour (Eren et al., 2012). Therefore, these value
components are deemed appropriate in the context
of online impulse buying behaviour.
Social Bridging
Social value is defined as the perceived utility
which is received through a person’s relationship
with their social community (Sheth et al., 1991).
Social value is measured through the product’s
association with different reference groups (Suki &
Suki, 2015). Based on Sheth et al. (1991), social
value is image drive which can be achieved through
the purchase of appearance related products or
services. Younger individual’s choice of product or
brand is usually influenced by their peers and
friends. Usually, these individuals purchase
products that have been accepted and approved by
JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH IN BUSINESS, MARKETING, AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT 35
their reference group. Generation Y consumers was
discovered to give importance to the opinion of
their friends compared to advertisements. They also
use social networks such as Facebook to get
information about the products before making a
purchase which is called crowd sourcing.
Bridging social capital describes weak ties, those
loose social connections that permit information
exchange and diffusion. In online networks,
Generation Y will be able to gather new and useful
resources (such as information or perspectives)
from loose connections with minimal emotional
support. Weak ties represent the distant
acquaintances who may be known in certain
settings but can also provide many ideas and
experiences (Chi, 2011). Bridging social capital
further explains about the social networks that
gather people of different backgrounds.
Social Bonding
Bonding social capital takes place between
members of closely knit social relations who are
emotionally dependent. In online networks, tightly
knit, strong ties include close friends and family
members, who can be depended on and have similar
interests and beliefs (Chi, 2011). Consumers that
hold bonding social capital receive emotional or
substantive support from each other through
continuous reciprocity (Williams, 2006). The
individuals with bonding social capital have slight
diversity in their backgrounds but have stronger
individual connections. The sustained reciprocity
found in bonding social capital offers strong
emotional and substantive support as well as allows
mobilisation.
Emotional Value
Emotional value is defined as the perceived utility
obtained from the stimulation of emotions, affective
states and feelings (Sheth et al., 1991). Emotional
value emerges when in association with impulsive
and continuous act to attain a particular feeling.
Products or services that are purchased by
consumers usually have specific emotional
attributes which depends on the customers
themselves. Based on past studies, emotional value
is related to unconscious and non-cognitive
decisions such as childhood experiences (Hirmer &
Cruickshank, 2014; Sheth et al., 1991). Generally,
previous literature assessed emotional value based
on the relationship between feelings and
alternatives. Therefore, similar associations can
affect consumers’ purchase decision (Suki & Suki,
2015).
Epistemic Value
Epistemic value is a component under the area of
epistemology which is often associated with
“method or grounds of knowledge” (Hirmer &
Cruickshank, 2014). Epistemic value is identified as
the perceived utility gained from an alternative’s
ability to offer novelty, provoke curiosity, and/or
gratify desire for knowledge (Sheth et al., 1991).
Epistemic value depicts the innovative and creative
features of a product (Candan et al., 2013).
According to Hirmer and Cruickshank (2014), new
experiences increase the epistemic value that
consumers receive. Sheth et al. (1991) further
explained that consumers tend to purchase if they
are feeling bored or satisfied with the existing
product, while some are curious and desire to
experiment new product.
Materialism
Belk (1985) was one of the first authors who
discovered the concept of materialism. He defined
materialism as “the importance a consumer attaches
to worldly possessions” and this acquisition is
crucial to achieve their goals and desired image.
Ward and Wackman (1971) expressed materialism
as an orientation to justify social achievements and
happiness through acquisition of products. Besides
that, materialism is also known as “a mind-set or
constellation of attitudes regarding the relative
importance of acquisition and possession of objects
in one’s life” (Richins & Dawson, 1992).
In past literatures, materialism has been
conceptualised in different forms. Browne and
Kaldenberg (1997) supported this by claiming that
materialism was viewed as value (Richins &
Dawson, 1992), attitude (Kilbourne et al., 2005),
belief, mood state, personality traits (Belk, 1984)
and lifestyle (Ahuvia, 2008) in prior works. This
paper will be implementing the Richins and
Dawson (1992)’s conceptualisation of materialism
as attitude comprising three dimensions
encompassing of centrality, success and happiness.
Centrality is described as the belief that the
ownership of materials acts as an important element
in the consumer’s life. Subsequently, success refers
to the achievement that the consumer assumes to
get when they purchase a particular product.
Finally, happiness represents the belief that buying
a product will make the consumer feel better.
36 JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH IN BUSINESS, MARKETING, AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Underlying Theories
Three underlying theories have been used to explain
the relationship between the variables. Stimulus-
Organism-Response Model (S-O-R) provides
understanding on the flow of the framework from
perceived values, materialism and online impulse
buying behaviour. Next, theory of consumption
value provides the three dimensions of perceived
values used in this study namely, social value,
emotional value and epistemic value. Finally,
theory of social capital offers a more
comprehensive dimension for the social value
which is divided into social bridging and social
bonding relevant to the online context of the paper. The S-O-R Model
The S-O-R model has played an important role in
the cognitive psychology field offering frameworks
and guidelines to understand and create the decision
making process of consumer buying behaviour.
Based on the S-O-R model, stimulus (S) influences
a person’s emotional evaluation which in turn
affects their conforming or avoidance behaviour
(R). Stimulus is the factor that affects the internal
state of an individual and the catalyst in the impulse
buying process (Sherman et al., 1997). Next,
organism acts as the mediating variable that is
related to psychology, feeling and consumer’s
mind. Response represents the outcome or the
reaction of the consumer in terms of their
behaviour.
Theory of Consumption Values
The theory of consumption values provides
explanation on consumption values, clarifying why
consumers choose to purchase or not to purchase a
product, why they select one product type over
another, and why consumers pick one brand over
another (Sheth et al., 1991). Theory of consumption
values has three conditions that has to be taken into
account which are: 1) consumer’s selection is based
on several consumption values, 2) consumption
values have different impact in a particular
circumstance, and 3) consumption values are
independent (Sheth et al., 1991). Consumption
values are split into five dimensions namely
functional, emotional, social, epistemic and
conditional values (Lin & Huang, 2012). This paper
uses three dimensions of value from the theory
which are social, emotional and epistemic value.
Theory of Social Capital
Many studies have been focusing on information
and communications technology (ICT) since the
emergence of Putnam (2000), which focused on the
theory of social capital. Putnam’s study
incorporates the value and importance of bridging,
across group and social ties. In previous literature,
Coleman (1988) investigated the value of bonding,
within group social ties. Meanwhile, Lin et al.
(2001) described the relationship between social
capital theory and social network theory. According
to Putnam (2000), social capital can be divided into
two categories, namely, social bridging and social
bonding which is used in this paper. Social bridging
refers to benefits that is gained through relationship
between groups while social bonding addresses the
relationship between those inside the cohesive
groups.
Proposed Conceptual Framework
Based on the key findings and frameworks from
previous literature, a conceptual model of the
factors that influence online impulse buying
behaviour is provided in Figure 1. Figure 1 displays
online impulse buying behaviour which is
influenced by perceived values and materialism.
Figure 1: Proposed research model
Social Bridging
Materialism
Success
Centrality
Happiness
Social Bonding Online Impulse Buying
Behaviour Emotional Value
Epistemic Value
JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH IN BUSINESS, MARKETING, AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT 37
Development of Research Propositions
Materialism has been found to influence the
bridging social capital. It should be noted that
materialism can be categorised as a positive or
negative concept. When consumers give importance
to products that they purchase, they value the
opinion of those around them. Additionally, these
materialistic consumers need to feel wanted within
their social group. According to Inglehart and
Baker (2000), materialism can be reflected through
the bridging social capital. Therefore, it is proposed
that:
P1: There is a positive relationship between social
bridging and materialism.
While parents might display exemplary behaviour,
particularly on their buying activities, studies on
numerous forms of risky behaviour implies that
social norming is a major process where parental
influence takes place. Moreover, peers are also an
important influence when it comes to risky
behaviour. Studies have revealed that
communication with peers on consumption-related
matters positively affects young people’s social
motivation for consumption and materialistic values
(Luo, 2005; Mangleburg et al., 2004; Moschis &
Churchill, 1978). Furthermore, people who are
materialistic are more worried about social
comparison (Larsen et al., 1999) and vulnerable to
normative influence. Their buying patterns are more
inclined towards their reference groups as they
desire for approval from others on their purchases
(Schroeder & Dugal, 1995). Therefore, the
following proposition is derived:
P2: There is a positive relationship between social
bonding and materialism.
In the traditional shopping environment, individual
values have been associated with attitude and
buying behaviour (Shim & Eastlick, 1998). Richins
(1994) acknowledged the positive relationship
between pleasure of obtaining and exhibiting
possessions with materialism. Additionally, Richins
(2013) discovered that emotions such as pleasure,
fun and happiness are more dominant among
materialistic consumers. These emotions influenced
the consumers when they buy and utilise a specific
product. It was also found that positive feelings
such as excitement were prevalent within
materialistic consumers. Similarly, Millar and
Thomas (2009) claimed that happiness which was
classified as emotional value displayed a significant
relationship with materialism. Therefore, this paper
proposes that:
P3: There is a positive relationship between
emotional value and materialism.
New and latest products have been able to attract
the attention of materialistic consumers who crave
to stay informed on the current trend. Belk (1984)
recognised materialists to be repeatedly
discontented with their possessions and continue
exploring newer products with improved and better
features than their current products. Goldberg et al.
(2003) established that novelty seeking positively
leads to materialism. This steered to the proposition
that:
P4: There is a positive relationship between
epistemic value and materialism.
Previous literatures explain that materialism would
lead towards impulse buying behaviour and
individuals who are materialistic have higher
probability of being impulse buyers (Xu, 2007).
Based on Attiq (2013), consumers who have greater
desire to acquire possessions are basically
motivated by their materialistic attitude. There is a
vast amount of literature that supports the claim that
materialism is positively related to impulse buying
behaviour (Podoshen & Andrzejewski, 2012; Xiao
& Nicholson, 2013). Therefore, the following
proposition is derived:
P5: There is a positive relationship between
materialism and online impulse buying behaviour.
According to Homer and Kahle (1988), value which
is most abstract influences buying behaviour
through mediating factors such as attitude.
Furthermore, value leads to attitude and ends with a
particular behaviour. Another study by Milfont et
al. (2010) supports that value indirectly influences
behaviour with attitude in between. Sevgili and
Cesur (2014) further confirmed that materialism
mediates the relationship between value and
shopping frequency. This leads to the following
proposition:
P6: Materialism mediates the relationship between
perceived values and online impulse buying
behaviour.
38 JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH IN BUSINESS, MARKETING, AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The paper intends to explain the proposed research
framework based on the theories used. The authors
recommend to use the quantitative approach to
empirically test the framework that has been
developed in this paper. The survey method is
suggested at it will be easier to reach the sample
which are Generation Y who have purchased
products or services through the online platform
within the past 12 months. Partial Least Squares-
Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) can be
used further to analyse the collected data.
4. CONCLUSION
The main focus of this paper is to gain further
understanding on online impulse buying behaviour
and propose a research framework for the benefit of
academicians and practitioners. Through the
literature review, it has been found that most studies
have focused on the impulse buying behaviour in
the brick and mortar settings. However, very few
researchers have studied online impulse buying
behaviour primarily in the online environment in
Malaysia. The online impulse buying phenomena is
important since its popularity has been increasing.
In order to address this issue, this paper provides a
comprehensive framework which explains the
antecedents of online impulse buying behaviour.
The proposed framework incorporates the Stimulus-
Organism-Response Model, theory of consumption
values and social capital theory. This paper covers
an important variable namely, perceived value and
its impact on materialism and online impulse
buying behaviour. Also, this framework hopes to
provide more knowledge on the internal factors that
influence materialism and online impulse buying
behaviour.
Furthermore, this paper expects to expose marketers
on understanding this deviant buying behaviour
which might not be a common buying behaviour.
The prominent role of the Internet to consumers
provides further justification that impulse buying
behaviour in the online environment is increasing.
Therefore, by acknowledging this problem, it is
hoped that marketers would be able to predict and
provide solutions to overcome online impulse
buying behaviour among Generation Y consumers.
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